Deposit a Check Directly From an iPhone

Skip the traffic filled bank trip across town, you can deposit checks directly from an iPhone. A variety of major US banks now offer the iPhone check depositing service, including Chase, Fidelity, US Bank, PayPal, and Charles Schwab, amongst others. I recently used the service through Chase Mobile, where it worked well enough to quickly become my preferred method of depositing checks.

Choose the account to deposit the check into, enter the amount on the check, then just take a picture of the front and back of the check itself

It’s really that simple, the first time using the app takes about 3 minutes from start to finish but once it’s configured it’s even quicker to use again.

The deposit will show up in the account immediately but it will be labeled as pending until it’s ready, and that brings us to the only real downside to depositing checks this way: it takes a few days for the check to clear. Just how long the wait time is seems to vary by the checks issuing bank, but it can take anywhere from a day to five days depending on a variety of factors. In my test, I deposited a check and had access to the funds in three days, but your experience may differ. For this reason, if you need immediate access to cash it’s probably best to visit the physical bank location, but if you don’t mind waiting a day or two, it’s incredibly convenient and beats a traffic filled trek across town any day.

If you don’t have Chase, mobile deposit apps for Charles Schwab, US Bank, Fidelity, Citi, and PayPal are free for iPhone and Android users, and Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and others are said to be offering the service soon too. Hopefully more banks and credit unions are to follow, it’s a great feature that will likely start to sway users to open accounts at one institution over another.

I find it very useful when I’m holding my iPad to make my deposits. Chase works very well. The only time I’ve ever had an issue is if somebody’s signature dropped down into the account number area. Confuses Chases verification system.

Here’s a problem: you’re banking with Chase! Stop giving money to the big banksters of Wall Street. These guys are thieves who use the deposits of common folk to perpetuate the massive land grab and other fraud currently underway in the US. Say no to big bank fraud and switch to credit unions and local community banks instead.

The only caution is that some banks are charging per deposit via mobile phone. I’m not willing to pay USBank $.50 to deposit a check via iPhone. Chase does not charge, but you need to be aware of these fees at your bank.

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